


Vacation Destination

by Shade_Penn1



Series: Croft and Son [10]
Category: Devil May Cry, Tomb Raider (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 06:45:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18585916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shade_Penn1/pseuds/Shade_Penn1
Summary: Small world, isn't it?





	Vacation Destination

"I hope you're both ready to have fun!" Sam said, raising her arms enthusiastically. She was standing at the base of the private plane, having run out first to make the spectacle.

Lara gazed around at the surrounding sandy coastline, mist around a mountain range in the distance with trees on all sides. "Now I see why you told us to pack lighter clothing."

Nero wiped his forehead with his left hand, the right one covered by a long bandage and glove. He decided, soon as the temperature rose beyond temperate, to ditch his hoodie. "And why it got so hot. Will you tell us where you brought us now?"

Sam placed her hands on her hips, sunglasses atop her head. "Can't you tell? We're in _Hawaii_. Perfect spot for a family vacation. Don't you think?" she beamed.

Lara blinked slowly. This was...an interesting choice for Sam to choose to spend their week long trip. It really hadn't been her idea, but Sam saw the serendipity of Nero being out of school for break and Lara with no travelling plans as the time for an imprompty family getaway. "Yes, there's bound to be some history I can learn."

Nero nodded. "And I hear Hawaii's got a university with a archeology course, I can see about checking that out."

"No, stop, back up!" Sam waved her hands. She rolled her head, sighing dramatically. "This is supposed to be family time, not about work, or school, or anything else weird. Just a nice, normal vacation."

Lara exchanged a glance with Nero. He hefted his bag over his shoulder, and shrugged. "Well, I suppose I can turn off 'archeologist' mode for the time being." she said.

"And I can...worry about school once we leave." Nero added.

Sam clapped her hands, smiling. "Great! There's a buggy already waiting for us. We can head into Princeville and get checked in. Oh, I have so much for us to do. This is going to be fun!" Giddy, Sam raced down the rest of the dock, towards the vehicle parked at the end of it.

"I don't think I've seen her this excited since I let her plan my sixteenth birthday." Nero said bemused.

"Wait until she's trying to set you up with some of her friends' children." Lara drawled.

Nero snorted. "Like that'll happen. When she used to take me to the park, she hovered and took me somewhere else when anyone got too close." he paused. "Hell, at my birthday she'd drag me away when someone got too close."

"Please don't swear." Lara said in amusement. It was a bit bewildering Sam had no trouble wanting to set Lara up during university, but took an almost complete one-eighty when it came to Nero. _'Though she has spent more time with him, probably just overprotective._ '

It did mean though Lara had yet to set anyone straight on how to treat her darling boy right. A bit of karma would be to hear him say 'I've met someone and I think you'll like them', especially if it were over dinner.

"Hurry up, we're losing daylight!" Sam called, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"Already here, too late to run now." Nero said, and shifted his bag.

Lara furrowed her brow. "Is the bag giving you trouble? Do you want me to carry it?"

Nero stiffened, before flushing. "Ah, no, it's fine. All this stuff is just a bit heavier kept in one bag."

"Well, if you're sure." Lara said, and grabbed her suitcase before putting on her sunglasses. She bid the pilot goodbye, and exited the plane with her son. "Before Sam can overhear us, I'll try to ask about how the university is. Less suspicious than if she catches you doing it."

"Right, and I'll try asking about the history around here. That'll throw Sam's radar off." Nero replied with a smirk. Lara gave him a conspiratorial smile back, before they reached Sam's location.

"You took your sweet time." She huffed, but her lips were in a playful smile. Though Sam and Lara were the same age, the latter found the former appearing a decade younger in her tank top, khaki vest and wrap-around skirt, all with an air of exuberance which made Lara smile wider in appreciation.

"This place is so lovely even the dock is quite the sight." Lara said.

Sam snorted, and climbed into the passenger seat, while the driver was waiting patiently behind the wheel. "Come on, we've got so much to do and so little time."

Lara and Nero put their bags beside Sam's in the cubby of a trunk, before climbing into the back seat. Nero leaned forward and craned his neck to glance at Sam.

"What's on the agenda first then? Hiking, sight-seeing...shopping?" he asked.

Sam grinned. "Lunch, of course. We should be able to get to Princeville with enough time to meet our guest."

Lara straightened up, because it dawned on her just where they were. "Sam, you...you _didn't_?" She didn't want to give any hope or excitement away, but there was a hitch in her voice as she finally recongized the town, which island in Hawaii that Sam brought them too.

Sam smiled mischieviously at her. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Oh, you can certainly be cruel sometimes." Lara replied dryly.

"What's so special about this place? Is there a museum here you'll let Mom see?" Nero asked. Lara huffed, ruffling his hair. Her son scowled and swatted her hand away.

"No, nothing like that. I'm serious about the no work, no school thing and we're sticking to it." Sam said, and turned back in her seat.

Lara caught Nero's gaze flicker just the slightest bit to his bag in the trunk. She wondered just _what_ he brought along which would make him apprehensive.

* * *

So, Nero's already precarious plans were even more on the rocks. He wasn't adversed to testing out the Red Queen and Blue Rose prototypes, but how was he supposed to get away to do it now? _'Maybe I shouldn't have told Nico to go crazy with the mechanics_ ' he thought, because both were heavy.

"As long as you can carry the damn things, you said." Nico reminded him when he told her such. And he could, very slowly. Which seemed to amuse her greatly, especially because he was 'getting his money's worth.' "But don't think this means you can just go around destroying them all reckless, ya hear? They're a work of art."

"And how am I supposed to do a test run without there being at least a little wear?" Nero fired back, but Nico wouldn't let him take the weapons unless he put it in writing he wouldn't destroy the things.

In hindsight, perhaps bringing Red Queen and Blue rose on vacation wasn't the best idea, but the school break was the only time he'd get. The weeks were spent cramming for all the credits he'd need to get into a good archeology program, and studying on passing his driving test. The weekends were reserved for getting Dante to help him with the demon stuff, well, when he wasn't taking _care_ of demon stuff.

And now they were here, in Hawaii and it sounded as though Sam had the whole week already planned out. Nero hoped 'you can go explore on your own' time was alloted or he'd need to sneak out of wherever they were staying at night. Not to mention Nero only knew in _theory_ what his weapons could do, which were still kickass, but still. _'And trying to determine how loud Red Queen's engine is going to be, and how far I need to from town.'_

Speaking of which, after leaving the crescent-shaped bay, their driver took them into a town, people milling around under the hot sun and Nero wondered how they could stand the temperature. He paused, and leaned over to his mother. "Please tell me you brought sunscreen." She gave him a bashful glance, because she forgot too apparently.

"You're so lucky I remember that you burn easily in the sun." Sam said, digging a bottle out of her purse.

Nero accepted it gratefully. "Yeah, don't really want to feel like a pincushion after." He tucked the sunscreen into his pocket. His healing might have accelerated to take care of most injuries, but a sunburn was something he wanted to avoid. One bad case of it was enough for him.

"Here we are." Sam said, almost jumping in her seat as the driver pulled into the circular driveway of a wide, white-walled inn. It wasn't very big, but Nero wasn't sure what he expected. He didn't travel alot like his classmates did. "Thank you, we'll take it from here." she added, handing their driver a tip.

Nero followed his mother out of the vehicle, and slung his bag over his shoulder. He tried not to buckle under the weight inside. It would take some getting used to holding the weapons, that was for sure. If Nero didn't suck at using a bow, he might have asked Nico to make one of those too. Probably for the best he hadn't.

The lobby was covered with lamenated floor tiles, and landscape paintings hung on the walls. There was a reception desk at the back, but not a lot of people hanging around. Since it was an inn, Nero surmarised they were either out, or in the adjacent food court. His stomach growled at the thought eating real food. The only thing he'd had on the trip was an energy bar.

Sam glanced back at him, snickering. "Don't worry, we'll be eating soon. The cafeteria is just down the hall, you can head there once you're checked in."

Nero nodded, and waited behind as Sam checked them into the inn under his mother's name. He raised a brow, and lowered his voice so only Lara could hear, "I thought Sam was the one who arranged this trip?"

"She is," Lara said softly, "but I told her she could reserve it under my name and credit."

Nero raised a brow. "Really? The old man told me never to do that, because you'll get the bill from whatever they spend." His brow furrowed. "Then he kinda complained about Lady and someone named Trish's expensive taste in clothes. I think the old man might be going senile."

"And at such a young age." Lara drawled. Nero snorted, and Sam came back holding three keycards.

"We're on the second floor, and I expect you both to be in the cafeteria in ten minutes." Sam said sternly, but it was softened by the exictement in her eyes.

Nero and his mother nodded, before he hurried off to the his room. He found the room which matched the number on his keycard, and slipped inside. His gaze roamed the area, taking everything in. A modestly sized bed against the back, white linen sheets, and a dresser cabinet on one side, with a nightstand on the other.

Nero set his bag onto the bed, passing the private bathroom to the window. His window wasn't overlooking anything scenic, but he did get a view of the forest and hills with the mountain in the back. Nero breathed in the fresh air, before he realized the view gave him the perfect way to gauge the distance of where he could test out his weapons and not freak anyone out.

Before he left, Nero hid the 'telescope' box under his bed, and stuffed Blue Rose into the box as well. Locking the door behind him, Nero reminded himself to try and make hiding his weapons less suspicious. He doubted whether that was possible, but there were no reports about a man in a red coat wielding a giant sword so who knows, anything's possible.

His mother waved from the entrance to the cafeteria, and he jogged up to her. "How's your room?"

"It's nice, I have a view of the town." Lara said.

"Really? I got a look at the mountains." Nero replied.

Lara snorted, before linking her arm through his and tugging him into the room. Booths lined the wall next to the window, leading to the patio outside, while tables made up the majority of the room. There was a bar to the back serving a lone blonde woman, who was wearing sunglasses in doors and an all black outfit with a brown open jacket. Nero wasn't sure why the woman wanted to torture herself wearing colors which only absorbed heat.

From one of the tables, Sam waved them over. Lara smiled widely when she saw who was sitting next to her; a large man with his hair tied back and peppered with gray, tattoos running along his arms.

"Jonah!" Nero almost tripped over his feet as his mother dragged him to the table. She released him in turn to hug the newcomer. "It's so good to see you. It feels like it's been forever. How's Abby?"

Nero's head spund a little as he tumbled into one of the chairs, blinking a bit dazed. He glanced at Sam, who had a strange sort of smile on her face, both happy and a bit sad. She caught Nero's eye, and her smile widened, any sadness chased away.

"It's great too see you too, and it hasn't been _that_ long." The man replied, patting Lara on the back. "And Abby's fine. She would have come, but she had business to take care of."

Lara nodded, smiling as she sat down. "I didn't want to raise my hopes, but once I realized where we were, I hoped I could see you when you weren't out sailing along the coast." she said, and the man laughed. She caught Nero's eye, before gesturing to him. "Jonah, I'm not sure if you remember my son, Nero."

Jonah scrutinized him, and Nero waited for the 'he doesn't look like you' which always seemed to be the first thing said. Instead, Jonah only nodded. "Yes, can't really forget seeing a kid with white hair." he said, but it was light-hearted. "You were really young when I met you, so you probably don't remember me."

Nero was a bit embarrassed to admit that, because his mother _had_ mentioned the man on occassion. "You're right," he said quietly, "but you, ah, work with my mom?"

"Worked," Jonah corrected him, "retired now. Well, retired from the whole business your mother's up to. Now I just spend my days relaxing and fishing; money's pretty good with that."

Nero blinked slowly, before glancing at Sam. "Please tell me fishing isn't on your list. You know what happened the last time."

Sam patted his right hand, perhaps a bit patronizing with the hilarity hindsight provided. "Don't worry, no fishies are going to bit your widdle fingers." she smirked, and Nero scowled as he yanked his hand back.

He shoved his arm down though, because he could have sworn even through the thick wrappings there was a glow. "Whatever." he muttered.

"How long are you staying for?" Jonah asked.

"The week, it was a bit of a spur of the moment thing, but Sam insisted we all spend family time together." Lara said.

Sam huffed, raising her glass. "Damn right." she said, taking a long sip.

Jonah chuckled. "Well, if you don't mind taking a hike when you got the time, I'm staying just down in Hanalei."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Lara said.

Nero nodded along with his mother, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the blonde woman at the bar looking at him. He furrowed his brow, and she only smiled before tipping back her drink and leaving the cafeteria. Nero clenched his right hand, a bit more on edge than he was before.

* * *

Lara practically devoured her dinner, and now she laid on her bed, too lazy to change her clothes or slip under the covers. It was only the first day, but Sam managed to cram in both a walk through a botanical garden and horse back riding. Nero's horse refused to obey him, and tried to nip on his hair. His expression had been worth it when Sam caught it on camera.

Tomorrow was likely to be just as exhausting, but Lara found herself looking forward to it. Just like everything else she did with Sam was. Lara turned over onto her side, the last rays of the sun disappearing beyond the town. Lara adjusted her jade pendant so it wasn't poking her in the collar, before she paused.

It was faint, but a door opened across the hall. She swung to her feet, and peered out the peephole. A flash of white hair streaked by her sight, but what caught her real interest was Nero hauling a long, white rectangular box over his shoulder.

_'He brought a telescope?'_ ' Lara thought, a bit amused. Since the stars were clearer out here, she doubted Sam would have been angry Nero wanted to gaze at the night sky. Lara debated leaving Nero to his own devices, but it _was_ dark out now, and sixteen or not, he was still her little boy.

Lara retied her hair back, and snuck out the door after him. Her son was so focused on being sure there was no one around in front of him, he forgot to glance back. Which made it ridiculously easy for her to keep up with him. She did though raise a brow at how far he was going from the inn, making his way into the forest. ' _Don't tell me he snuck fireworks onto the plane instead_ ' she thought, keeping watch behind a tree.

What he pulled out of the box though was infinitely more dangerous than a single firework. It was Red Queen and Blue Rose. He slipped the gun into his belt loop, before examining the sword, hand on the revolver handle. Nero staggered a bit under the weight of the sword, which would have been funny if Lara didn't feel the need to question why he brought those with him.

If he wanted to practice, didn't he know to use the gym in their home, or rent out something? Was he afraid Lara would take his eagerness to learn how to use these weapons as deciding to throw his life away? She made peace with the fact of Dante's rather morbid assertion Nero couldn't _just_ keep away from demons his whole life, how he'd been lucky due to his demon blood being dormant until his arm changed.

Nero swung the blade, holding it tight in his left hand but his footing uncertain. He stabbed the end into the ground, taking a deep breath before he turned the handle. It _revved_ and Lara gasped in disbelief. The sound of it drowned her out, and Nero winced.

"Okay, need to get Nico to fix the engine. It's way too loud." he muttered, eyes narrowed as he examined it.

Oh, this wasn't _just_ practice. It was a test run. Though it eluded her why he thought he needed to hide it-wait, that's right. Normal family time. And 'practice with demon killing weapons' didn't quite make the cut yet for 'normal'. Lara rubbed her brow, and watched as Nero gathered a chunk of wood from a fallen tree. He set it a distance away, and aimed Blue Rose. Both barrels gleamed, and Nero flinched from the recoil.

"And definitely need that worked on." he said, shaking his head.

Lara sighed, and cleared her throat. Nero froze, and he was about to raise the gun before he saw her, his expression both uneasy and indignant. "Before you say anything, I only followed because you were obvious about it."

Nero snorted, lowering the weapon. "Can't get anything by you, huh?" he glanced at Red Queen. "Are you going to tell Sam about this? I know how much this vacation meant to her, and I didn't want to bring it up, but there wasn't any other time to test it."

"Well, it's not like I can say I'm a stickler for rules." Lara said, rubbing the pendant between her fingers thoughtfully. "I probably would have gotten 'lost' during a hike near some old ruins."

"Right, because those are super easy to stumble upon." Nero snorted, but held out his gun. "Do you want to check it out then?"

"Yes, excellent craftsmanship." Lara said, turning the pistol in her hands.

"Don't tell Nico, I think she'll get a bigger head over her 'masterpieces.'" Nero retorted.

Lara smiled, a touch bemused. It was, perhaps a bit of a faux pas on her part to ask about the girl's family so soon after meeting her, but Lara had been curious about where Rock (her adoptive father/uncle, as it surprisingly turned out) learned about gunsmithing from. The girl had been all too eager to talk about her 'grandmother' Nell.

"I think if you told her she crafted weapons like her grandmother her ego would grow." Lara said dryly.

Nero laughed shortly. "I think only Dante could attest to that, since he apparently knew her." Lara raised a brow, and Nero shrugged. "He's the one who told me where to find Rock."

"I was wondering about that." Lara quipped. She tilted her head. "Two gun barrels? And an engine sword?"

Nero blushed, and Lara resisted pinching his cheek. "It gives Blue Rose more of a punch, one bullet to crack the demon hide, the other to pump 'em full of lead." he explained, and leaned against his sword. "This though, is something I've been thinking about for a while; it's called 'Exceed' and I really didn't think Nico would be able to pull it off."

"And what does it do, exactly?" Lara asked.

Nero was about to speak, but with the darkness of night, his arm glowed through the bandages around his demon arm. His jaw snapped closed, and he dragged Red Queen with him to Lara's side, gazing about. "This happened during the museum, I think there's a demon around."

A shadow passed overhead, and Nero tensed up as a woman with long blonde hair landed in the tree across from them. She stared down at them through dark sunglasses. "Your arm just really takes the fun out of this."

Nero scowled. "You're that woman from the bar. I knew there was something weird about you. What do you want?"

"I think this should be enough of an answer." The blonde shot her hand out, and a wave of electricity scorched the ground at Nero's feet.

Lara gritted her teeth, and raised Blue Rose to fire. The recoil was more than a shotgun, but it was only knowing how to use a pistol she braced herself for the backlash. _'Of all times to forget my own guns._ ' she thought, her arms aching, but she wasn't exactly expecting a demon to interrupt their trip.

A demon which jumped to avoid the bullets hitting the tree, blowing off the top and sending it crashing to the ground. The blonde observed the damaged trunk. "That might have actually hurt." she drawled.

Nero tensed. "Then let's see how tough you are against _this_!" he revved the handle of Red Queen in three quick successions, and Lara was alarmed by the fluid which gushed down the blade.

Her eyes widened when Nero charged, and fire sparked from the sword with each strike of Red Queen at the demon, who just as casually dodged each blow. Nero slammed the sword onto the ground and Lara felt the earth shake beneath her. The blonde was unfazed, and took the opening to roundhouse kick Nero.

The force sent him crashing back to Lara's feet, and she pulled him up. "Was that supposed to be on fire?"

Nero grimaced, shaking his left hand while the bandage around his right were scorched, showing the scaly texture beneath. "Yeah, but she wasn't supposed to dodge it."

"Oh I'm sorry, but pardon me if I don't feel like being barbequed." The blonde said dryly. "But if this is what Dante's been teaching you, he must not be as good a teacher as a demon slayer."

Lara's insides twisted, and she trained Blue Rose on the woman as Nero scowled. "Who are you? A demon with a grudge against Dante?" she asked tersely.

The blonde hummed, before removing her glasses. Nero stiffened completely. "I wouldn't say that exactly."

"You-you're the woman Dante keeps a picture of on his desk." Nero said incredulously.

Something crossed the woman's face at that, before she scoffed. "Try again, kiddo. My name's Trish."

Lara narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How we do know you're not just trying to lull us into a false sense of security?"

It took a blink of an eye, before Lara felt the press of something cool against the back of her neck. The blonde was gone, and Lara glanced out through the corner of her eye to see the demon smiling behind her.

"If I were really serious about killing you both, we wouldn't even be having this discussion." she said.

"You know, the old man never said how much you liked to screw with people." Nero muttered. "Do you just like picking fights for fun or something?"

"Like Dante's any better." Trish said, putting her gun away. Lara's shoulders eased. She didn't like being snuck up, but the woman was right. "Though I am touched he talks about me."

"Not really, he just says you crash at his place and don't pay rent." Nero retorted. Trish shrugged, but Nero furrowed his brow. "Why didn't you just tell us who you were instead of attacking me?"

"I wanted to see how strong you were." Trish said bluntly. "You are, in every sense of the word, still a baby demon."

Nero's cheeks puffed out. "I'm sixteen." he said indignantly. "I can almost drive!"

"If you don't mind me asking," Lara cut in, feeling this was a bit surreal, "but why are you here?"

"I was just finishing up a job and was heading through town. I decided to treat myself when I saw you checking into the inn." Trish explained.

"And decided to follow us than talk." Nero muttered.

"I was...assessing the situation." Trish replied. "Like how your weapons need some work done, and you need to build your upper body strength." She poked Nero's shoulder, and he glowered at her. "You could barely hold your sword."

"If I brougt out Yamato things would be different." Nero retorted.

"Before anyone starts thinking of a rematch," Lara said swiftly, because she could see where Nero's thoughts were headed from the look on his face, "can we please save it for _after_ the vacation?" She reached down and grabbed Nero's right wrist, the marks still glowing. "You don't want to run out of bandages or explain to Sam where these burns came from, do you?"

"I still need to finish testing out Red Queen and Blue Rose." Nero said mutinously.

"And you saw what they could do." Lara said, before she paused and narrowed her eyes. "Please tell me your gun isn't supposed to shoot flaming bullets too."

"No way, all that gun powder would probably explode the thing in my face at the first bullet, let alone the second." Nero replied. His shoulders sank, frowning. "I guess I can hold off for the rest of the time, but once we're back in England I want a rem- _hey_ , where'd she go?"

Lara glanced around, but could see no sign of the woman was still alive. Nero's arm having stopped glowing gave it away she likely left while they were talking. His expression though turned flushed and angry when he collected Red Queen. On the blade, in red lipstick and cursive were the words 'Better luck next time.'

* * *

"What's the matter with you too? I let you sleep in and you're both still tired." Sam said, her expression both annoyed and concerned. "Was there jet lag? Are you two catching a cold from the rapid temperature change?"

Lara drank a strong cup of coffee, trying to wake herself up. Nero almost fell asleep in his breakfast before Lara pulled the plate away and he laid his head on the table. "I think it might be jet lag." she said. "Nero hasn't travelled a lot, and I didn't get much sleep on the flight over."

Sam tilted her head, arms crossed as she sighed. "Well, hopefully you'll be awake for all the things I have planned today."

"Hurray." Nero muttered. "Is the last day going to be an all-day sleepathon?"

Sam snorted. "Heck no, that's how you get bedsores." she shuddered. "Nero, eat something before we head out. We're going zip-lining and I don't want you falling asleep out there."

Lara smiled as he grimaced, and she stroked his hair. Perhaps she should have been a bit more careful of how long they'd been out in the forest while Nero finished his test run after Trish left. She caught sight of the manager coming up to their table, his brows furrowed. "Yes, is there a problem?"

"Ah, no ma'am, but we were told to give this to you." The manager said. "A blonde woman came by this morning, and said to forward it."

Lara's lips pursed as Nero twisted around in his seat, craning his neck as she opened the letter to read over her shoulder. It was a bill, cost for damages in using 'excess of force in waste disposal'. Lara raised her brows, finding that at least Trish hadn't made the bill to _her_. Rather, she was letting them be the messenger to give it to Dante.

Nero whistled quietly. "If there's that much property damage involved, no wonder the old man's always in debt."

Sam leaned her elbow on the table, palm resting on her cheek. "Let me guess, it can't wait?"

Lara exchanged a glance with Nero, who smiled as he grabbed his plate and began eating. Lara neatly folded the paper and slipped it into her pocket. "Actually, I think it can. This is, after all, our family time."


End file.
